Murdoch eMails Loom Large In Lawsuits Against Fox News

Did Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch influence Fox News’ coverage of claims about two voting technology companies — knowing that those claims were false?

According to Reuters, that has become a significant question in defamation lawsuits filed by Smartmatic and Dominion Voting Systems Corp against Fox News and its parent company Fox Corp. The plaintiffs are asking for more than $4 billion in damages from the media giant, on-air talent such as Maria Bartiromo and guests including Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, lawyers aligned with former U.S. President Donald Trump.

Smartmatic and Dominion are seeking communications from Fox Corp Chairman Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan, the company's executive chairman and chief executive, to help prove that Fox News either knew statements it aired were false, or acted with reckless disregard for whether they were true or false.

That is the standard of “actual malice,” which public figures must prove in order to prevail in defamation cases.

It is just one component of Dominion and Smartmatic’s efforts to show that Fox News, hosts and guests either knew or should have known they were amplifying bogus claims. The voting firms have also alleged that individuals who made the claims on-air knew they were false or recklessly ignored easily available evidence that they were false.

Fox News has moved to dismiss the lawsuits, saying it reported on matters of paramount public concern, and that this coverage is protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Bartiromo, Powell and Giuliani, like other defendants, have argued in court filings that they engaged in free speech protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

In the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, Trump allies like Giuliani, a Republican, appeared on Fox News and falsely claimed Dominion and Smartmatic software may have manipulated vote counts in favor of Democratic opponent Joe Biden.

Other Fox News coverage after the election refuted those claims, as did two Murdoch-controlled newspapers — the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post.

According to Dominion and Smartmatic, that Wall Street Journal and New York Post coverage is evidence that Fox News was amplifying election conspiracy theories its leaders knew, or should have known, were false.